A news article recently published on the Citizenship & Immigration Canada website has outlined reasons for Canada’s immigrant settlement success rate. Canada has over 60 immigration programs such as skilled workers, business / investor migrants and family migrant programmes. Canada also has a ‘Start Up’ visa programme which gives potential investor immigrants / foreign entrepreneurs the chance to build a business in the country.
The report details that the most successful migrants (in terms of economic success) are skilled migrants, usually as these migrants often become Permanent Residents.
The report also showed that new migrants in Canada are more likely to volunteer than the local population. Volunteer work is often in cultural, religious or immigrant centres.
Canada generally has a good settlement programme for new arrivals and the Government are proud of their multi-cultural system. There are also many resources available for new migrants in Canada including the ‘Welcome to Canada’ website and the ‘Living in Canada’ web resource. Both websites are available on the Canadian Government’s website (www.canada.ca).
Other findings include that political engagement is high for migrants in general. Migrants in Canada have the right to vote in the country when they obtain Canadian Citizenship.
In order to apply for Canadian Citizenship, applicants must meet the eligibility requirements (relating to age, language ability level and the period of time the person has lived in Canada among other factors). A study guide called ‘Discover Canada’ for people to prepare for the test is provided. The guide contains information on a range of topics relating to life in Canada including Canadian history, the political structure in the country, the economy and the geography of Canada.
The Canadian Government has also this week announced that commercial and cultural ties have been strengthened with Lebanon. The two countries also have a strong trading relationship.
